Hossa's all-around game something special to watch

EDMONTON, Alberta - To watch Marian Hossa play every night is to appreciate him as a complete hockey player.

When the Blackhawks signed Hossa as a free agent last summer there might have been expectations for him to score as many goals as Alex Ovechkin.

While Hossa is one of the game's premier goal scorers, there is so much more to what he does on the ice such as his pinpoint passing, his intelligence, his positioning and his vision to find open teammates using the time and space he creates for himself.

Hossa's goal in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Oilers was his 14th in 30 games since returning from shoulder surgery, which projects to about 40 over a full season. Hossa hasn't been a dominant goal scorer, but the offensively balanced Hawks haven't needed him to be that.

"I think everybody wants to score more goals," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "His production is fine. His contribution, even when he's not producing, really helps our team game."

Hossa admitted it took him considerable time to adjust to the Hawks' system of playing.

"I'm getting more chemistry with my teammates and we're playing well," Hossa said.

Straight shooter: Oilers coach Pat Quinn on losing 4-2 to the Hawks in a game his team was never in. "We didn't play any offense," he said. "The score flattered us."

Likes what he sees: "Young Hawks look like old Oilers," was the headline on a column by Terry Jones in Wednesday's Edmonton Journal.

And Jones was there covering those great Oilers teams of the mid-1980s.

"These young Hawks haven't won anything yet and there's no Wayne Gretzky there, but it's just fun to watch them pass the puck around even if it's in your home rink against your home team," Jones wrote.

Tip-ins: With 2 assists on Tuesday, Patrick Kane became the fastest Hawk to reach 200 career points, passing Denis Savard's mark - All the Hawks' top hockey decision makers were gathering in San Jose for meetings ahead of the March 3 trade deadline. Joining general manager Stan Bowman was assistant GM Kevin Cheveldayoff, pro scout Steve Smith and senior director of hockey administration Al MacIsaac - Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle didn't practice Wednesday and could miss his third straight game with an upper body injury, according to the San Jose Mercury News.